All of the comments I see are about commercial or technical possibility. As a customer with experience of the "service", I will NOT be buying from anyone limiting their payment method to PayPal! I don't see this announcement as being any kind of good news

for the 30% treatment. The app is free. You buy, or are given, a device that scans credit cards. They're not selling apps, they're not selling you music - but they can, I suppose. There would be hell to pay if Apple kept only its payment method exclusive to the iPhone. And it's the wrong choice to compete.

There's a big fight going on with phone as payment mechanism. If Mastercard or Visa wants to make it possible, I'd let them compete on the iPhone. More likely to become widely accepted.

Mastercard pays its own electric bill and its own Internet bills. Apple has chosen the Passport gift card model for its first payments.

1. You can't sell physical goods from within an application. Which is why Amazon kicks you out to their mobile page to check out.

Amazon kicks you out to their mobile page to avoid the 30% cut Apple demands. Amazon's margins are too thin for them to be able to make a profit if they have to give a third of their cash to another company. They would make a loss on every sale.

Those policies are like the pirates code - more like guidelines than actual rules. Apple can and will change them at any time, and your app may be rejected if it goes against the spirit of the policies even if not the letter.

3rd-party payment mechanisms are clearly against the spirit of having all purchases go through iTunes. Apple won't let this through.

Quote:

Originally Posted by fredfnord

You say this very authoritatively, but I have never seen any indication that it is true.

This is what Apple has to say on the subject:

So, you cannot unlock features or functionality in your app without using the App Store. You cannot purchase content, functionality, or services IN YOUR APP without using IAP. And you can't use IAP to purchas physical goods or goods and services used outside the application.

Nowhere, as far as I can see, does it say that you cannot use your own payment system to purchase real-world goods and/or services from within an app.

Why wouldn't this be allowed the same way square is allowed to scan credit cards using their hardware and the iPhone? Intuit has a service and device similar to square too. I suppose the only difference is Paypal doesn't require special hardware, you can just use the camera.

This is hardly serious news , because Paypal SDK for paying within APP (with native components not through webpage) has been present for at least year and many apps already use it :-) Though it is nice if they finally merged their multiple options into single kit.

This. Exactly. It's been available for at-least six months now.
I too am using it in an app.

Amazon kicks you out to their mobile page to avoid the 30% cut Apple demands. Amazon's margins are too thin for them to be able to make a profit if they have to give a third of their cash to another company. They would make a loss on every sale.

No they don't. I use the Amazon app at least 3-4 times a week and NEVER use or get kicked out to a we page. I pick an existing payment method or add a new one.

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Quote:

Originally Posted by sparkso

Dude check out those apps and see what function is missing

Dude you are wrong. I've personally used almost every one of those apps and its always used my CC within the app, not Apples in app purchase or a web page.

I thought that was against Apple's policies? It was either iTunes or GTFO.

Several apps use other forms of payment: Groupon, eBay, Gyft, etc all take alternate forms of payment. The limitation Apple places is that 1) If the origin of the payment or subscription is from the app, the app must use iTunes (and Apple's 30%). 2) Alternate forms of payment (such as Amazon and PayPal) are allowed, but sign up and referrals cannot be redirected by the app.

Summed up: If the app is where the payment's source occurs, it must use iTunes. If there is another form of payment, the other form must be registered externally PRIOR to the app purchase.

It's confusing as heck, but Apple hopes that the users and developers will mak things simpler by just using iTunes payment in their apps.

All of the comments I see are about commercial or technical possibility. As a customer with experience of the "service", I will NOT be buying from anyone limiting their payment method to PayPal! I don't see this announcement as being any kind of good news

Since you seem to know more can you tell us what are the other reputable means of payment over the Internet? Monopoly is never any good.

I will NOT be buying from anyone limiting their payment method to Google Wallet. Nor from anyone limiting their carriers to UPS.

PayPal is creating a SDK. If only they could create a working application or mobile Web page, now.

All of the comments I see are about commercial or technical possibility. As a customer with experience of the "service", I will NOT be buying from anyone limiting their payment method to PayPal! I don't see this announcement as being any kind of good news

Who is saying that PayPal will be your only payment option? Although if it was, you should know you can pay with a credit card without a PayPal account. The API makes this transparent as well.

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Quote:

Originally Posted by somethingelsefl

Several apps use other forms of payment: Groupon, eBay, Gyft, etc all take alternate forms of payment. The limitation Apple places is that 1) If the origin of the payment or subscription is from the app, the app must use iTunes (and Apple's 30%). 2) Alternate forms of payment (such as Amazon and PayPal) are allowed, but sign up and referrals cannot be redirected by the app.

Summed up: If the app is where the payment's source occurs, it must use iTunes. If there is another form of payment, the other form must be registered externally PRIOR to the app purchase.

It's confusing as heck, but Apple hopes that the users and developers will mak things simpler by just using iTunes payment in their apps.

It's not confusing, your description makes it very confusing though.

Apple does not want you selling physical goods thru in app purchases.

Apple does however want you to use in app purchases for digital content, advanced app features, etc.

Just in case anybody was still confused about this, those saying this will not be permitted by Apple are simply wrong.

It has always been permissible to take direct payments, through Paypal or otherwise, for services used outside of your app or for physical goods and in fact the use if IAP is expressly forbidden for this.

Just some examples of apps I have used that do this: Starbucks (card topups, direct card payment), Dominos Pizza (Paypal using embedded web view), Ocado grocery deliveries (direct card payment). Many other valid examples have been pointed out.

Conversely, if you are offering content or services to be used inside of your app, even if they can be used from other platforms (eg Netflix subscription or ebooks) you MUST use IAP.

All valid uses if this new Paypal SDK will accepted by Apple without issue. Developers using it to circumvent IAP (including "donation ware" models) will be rejected.

There is no conflict of interest because the things you must use IAP for and the things you must use third party payment mechanisms for are mutually exclusive.